Railway-tie.



R. U STALEY.

RAILWAY TIE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV 13. I913.

LQ9812 Patented Apr. 1, 1919.

zzm

kiw w j BY (1 jg i W ATTORNEY RUSSELL U. STALEY, OF SPOKANE, WASHINGTON.

RAILWAY-TIE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 13, 1918. Serial No. 262,288.

This invention relates toimprovements in' railway-ties and has to do with structural features and dispositions of the mass in such a manner as to more effective cause the tie to perform its several functions. 7

One of the main features of this invention is to provide the tie with rail supporting portions of such enlarged area at those points beneath the rail, that each rail supporting portion will function independently of the other, or companion portion, to not only support the rail, but to hold the rail upright and in a stable'manner irrespective of the condition of the central or intermediate ortion of the rail.

A further 0 ject is to so increase the sup porting surface, and utilize the same that a greater length ofthe rail will be in supported contact with the tie, whereby the ties can be spaced at greater distances from center to center than has heretofore been possible, irrespective of. light or heavy t-raflic, and without subjecting intermediate portions of the rail between the ties to dangerous strains.

My invention is essentiall related to the art of molded ties of rein orced material, and one of the features consists in forming the tie of mating sections and uniting the inner ends of said sections in such a manner as to relieve the intermediate portions of the tie from the strains to which they are now subjected, whereby, I am enabled to ve terme iate portions thereby effecting not only a great saving of material but also improvin the tie in all such essential points as WOlfid naturally flow from such reduction of weight.

A further object .is to provide improved rail holding means for the tie whereby it will not be necessary to accurately shift the tie endwise after it has once been set in the tamped roadway, in order to compensate for slight adjustment of the points of anchorage of the rail holding means to the ties.

In a molded tie of reinforced material materially reduce the size of the inthe dimensions may be.

composed of mating sections, it is a feature of my invention to pivotally unite said sect1ons and to congect up the reinforcement with the pivoting device in such a manner as not only to prevent the pivoting device from pulling away from the concrete, under stress, but also to distribute such stress as the pivoting device may exert throughout the length of engagement of the reinforcement with the tie.

My invention has. many other features which will be more fully described in connection with the accompanying drawing, and which will be more particularly pointed out in and by the appended claims.

In the drawing Figure l, is a view in side elevation of a tie embodying the preferred form of construction showing the rails in position thereon.

Fig. 2, is a plan view thereof.

Fig. 3, is a sectionalview on line 33 of Fig. 2. F Fig. 4, is a sectional view on line 14 of Fig. 5, is a sectional view on line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6, is a sectional view on line 6-6 of Fig. 7. a

Fig. 7, is a sectional view on line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8, is a plan view on a reduced scale showing the spacing disposition of the ties under the rails.

Like characters of reference designate similar parts throughout the different figures of the drawing.

As illustrated, 1 and 2 designate mating sections of a molded tie which are identical in formation and construction and which therefore need not be described in duplicate as regards the'specific construction thereof.

The section 1, is provided with a rail supporting portion 3, which if considered separately and alone, is of substantially rectangular form, the length of which is indicated by line 4, and the width of which is indicated by line 5, irrespective ofwhatever Thus it will be clear that the supporting portion extends laterally ofthe rail on each side thereof,

road bed whereby such supporting portion 110 Patented Apr. 1, 1919.

I will act independently to support its rail in an upright and stable position without any aid from the intermediate portion of the tie. In other words, if those outer strips of the road bed beneath the rail supportin portions are accurately tamped and levele the central ortion need only be low enough not to ump or project the central portion-of the ties above the position they would seek to assume as a result of j cross section down to the point of merely sustaining whatever strain would be imposed under compression or tension in' maintaining the outer or supporting portions in proper spaced relation with respect to each other. Thus that feature whereby I am enabled to material reduce the cross section of the central portlon of the tie with respect to the end portions, will now be clear, and I will next describe the central portion of the tie structure as shown in the accompanying drawing.

7 There is formed integral with the inner extremity of each supporting portion 3, an inner or connecting section 6, which tapers from its juncture with the supporting per-- tion toward its inner extremity 7. Further, section 6 is bodily off-set from the longitudinal axis 8, of the whole section, in-

such a manner as to dispose a preponderant mass of section 6, at one side of said axis. Section 6 is also provided with a lapping abutting face 9, which is not only a plain fiat face but which is disposed co-incident with 'a vertical plane intersected by the longitudinal axis 8, of the entire'section. Thus each section will have an inner end 7, and

' these inner ends will be disposed in lapped relation with absolutely nothing to oppose the two sections of which the tie is composed from assuming position slightly out of alinement which would not be possibleif the tie were composed'of an integral bod The tie sections are united, preferab y pivotally, in a novel manner which-I will next describe. 7 I A pivoting sleeve 10, is set in each end 7 of the tie sections and this sleeve prefer- -ably extends throu%hout the horizontal width of the end 7. hen the lapped ends 7 are in :proper location with respect to each other, these sleeves will register, and a pivot bolt 11 is extended therethrough. The head 12 and nut 13, may bear against suita'ble washers 14 and 15 which latter may abut directed against the ends of the sleeves so that when the nut is turned home tightly, it will not result in clamping the lapped ends 7 is such tight engagement as would tend to resist the tie from fbreaking joint at its,

connection with the sleeve.

ner to cause thesame notonly to function n 1ts usual manner, but-also in a novel manner with relation to the pivot device just described.

A concrete tie, due in part to the breaking stresses imposed by over-turning strains on the rail, is usually provided with longitudinally disposed reinforcing rods and I have provided such rods as indicated at 16.

These rods are shown disposed relativelyv close to the base of the tie sections and they extend from the outer ends toward the inner ends thereof. Near the inner ends, the rod is shown coiled about the sleeve 10, with preferably a single convolution, as at 17,

the inner extremity 18, extending 'beyond such attachment to the sleeve toward the inner extremity of the end 7. In practice, I prefer to tightly coil the rod 16 so that it will not only engage the sleeve 10 as a result of being held by the concrete, but also, and additionally, as a result of its mechanical It will also be seen that the sleeve will act to anchor the rod 16 and likewise, the rod will act to anchor the sleeve, the latter also functioning as a transverse reinforcement of end 7 By means of this pivotal connection, the sections 1 and 2 can not only be shipped separately but also handled separately while being laid. Further, by means of the..novel form of fasteningthe reinforcement to the pivot sleeves, I gain all the advantages of an all concrete tie without the disadvantageous. necessity of exposing ortions of the reinforcement to the corro ing action of the elements v With the present wood ties, and with all other ties to my knowledge, the relative length. of rail base in supported engagement with the tie is so short that the ties have to be spaced very closely inorder not dangerously to subject that portion of the :rail, bridging the ties, to too' great strain. .This defect greatly increases the cost of very considerable length of the rail base,

and this feature also combines with the length of the supporting portion to present a very large area for engagement wlth the road bed.' Thus, the supporting portion will not smk 1n the road bed as would be the case with a narrow tie base. Now I am aware that broad topped ties, lengthwise of the rail, are not broadly new, and this alone, would not accomplish the results for which this broad feature is designed. It is not only essential to have a broad top, but it is necessary to arrange for engagement of the rail base throughout the width of such broad top, or substantially so, in order to permit of a relatively increased spacing apart of the ties. Therefore, I provide a tie plate 19 which is set with itsupper face flush with the top of the tie so that the base of the rail will impinge or bear against the top of the tie throughout the width thereof. This improved tie plate 19 is provided with ribs 20, which project downwardly in the concrete, and the plate 19 is of sufficient length to project a considerable distance on each side of the rail, the ribs extending the full length of the plate and being at right angles to the rail. This extra length of the tie plate acts to distribute the weight strain from the rail over a large area of the tie so as to prevent granulation such as would result from localizing the vibration of the rail on a small area of the tie. This feature is of especial importance because it would be impossible to extend the tie plate the full width of the tie, as such a disposition would leave no room for rail holding devices. Now while the tie plate does not extend the full width of the tie, still, the fact that the tie plate is flush with the top of the tie, insures engagement of the rail base throughout the full width of the tie. Now, by reference to Fig. 8, it will be seen that as a direct result of the long rail base engagement of the rail with the tie, the latter can be spaced much farther apart than would be the case with a short rail base engagement with the tie, as the strain on the intervening bridging portions of the rail is so greatly reduced because of the long rail base engagement.

Reference will next be made to my novel means for anchoring the rail holding devices to the tie, and in this connection, it may be stated that the holding devices do not themselves, form a feature of this invention, but only, the means whereby said holding devices are anchored.

The flanges 21, of the rails 22, are gripped by clamps 23 through which wood screws 24,

pass. This is well known construction. The wood screws 24 are turned into anchor blocks 25, preferably of wood. As shown in Fig. 1, these anchor blocks have end walls or faces 26 and 27, which converge from the base 28, toward the top 29, which is flush with the top of the tie. When the tie is molded, these blocks may be set in and the material of which the tie is made will be poured around them, and the converging faces will efi'ectively prevent the blocks from being pulled out as a result of tightening of the screws. The side faces .30 and 31, are parallel. It will be noted that the anchor blocks 25 are set in the tie so as to expose the outer faces 31, to the elements, and therefore, the blocks will be prevented from contracting as a result of lack of moisture below the tops of the blocks. Further, when a block is split, or becomes worn, replacement can readily be made without either lifting the rail or shifting the tie. The new block should be dry, and will be fitted tightly in the recess 32, initially, and moisture will swell the block to retain the same tightly in position. However, even when a new block is inserted, the converging faces 26 and 27 will securely hold the block after the screw therein has been tightened.

' In long dry periods, contraction of wood blocks often results'where moisture from the earth is prevented from reaching them, therefore,eit is a feature of my invention to provide the tie with passages 33, extending from the base of each recess 32, downwardly through the tie and opening at the base thereof, whereby moisture from the earth immediately below the tie may find access to the block.

This opening 33, performs another function, because of its shape and location. It is well known that after the road-bed has been tamped, the ties are carefully laid so that when the railsare placed, the holding devices will be in position to clamp the rail base flanges. However, it would require too much time to so accurately lay the ties as not to require any shifting movement thereof, and in fact, it wouldbe almost impossible so to do. Therefore, the ties are laid as accurately as possible and then if the holding devices of the ties are too far to the right or left of the rail, the tie is shifted endwise slightly. This is not only a laborious but also a,time consuming operation which I entirely avoid. Thus the passages 33 are elongated, and are disposed with respect to the anchoring screws 24, or rather the line on which the blocks are bored to receive said screws, in such a manner as to be in line with the screw, and permit the lower end 34:

. to project into the passage 33, irrespective as to whether or not the block is drilled on line aa or bb, of Fig. 6. Thus,.if the tie is not in position so that the block can be drilled in the position in which the screws 24, are shown, it is possible to drill the block farther toward or from the outer end of the tie, to compensate for inaccurate endwise location of the tie, and without endwise shifting of the tie.

In addition to the reinforcement described, I provide rods 35 which extend lengthwise of the tie sections, the same being disposed above the rods 16. Reinforcing rods 36 are disposed outwardly of the sections andv are bent at 37 to loop upwardly between the blocks 25, the ends 38 being bent upwardly about the blocks.

It is believed the novelty and advantages of myinvention will be clearly understood from the foregoing description, and while I have herein shown and described one specific form of my invention, I do not wish to be limited thereto except for such limitations as the claims may impart.

I claim 1. A railway-tie composed of mating sections formed of concrete and having their inner ends in lappedabutting relation and the abutting faces of the lapped ends being flat whereby said sections may assume positions other than a position of true alinement on the road bed, and means pivotally uniting said lapped ends.

'2. A molded railway-tie composed of mating sections each having an enlarged outer rail supporting portion and the inner ends of said sections being pivotally connected in lappedrelation, said sections decreasing in cross section from the inner extremities of their rail supporting portions toward their inner lapped ends.

- 3. A railway-tie composed of molded mating sections having their inner ends in lapped relation, means unlting the said lapped ends. and each section havlng a reinforcing extendin longitudinally thereof and connected wlth said means.

4. A railway-tie composed of molded mating sections having their inner ends in lapped relation, apivot device uniting said lapped ends, and each section having a reinforcing rod extending longitudinally thereof and connected with said pivot device.

5. A railway-tie composed of molded mating sections having their inner ends in lapped relation, sleeves extending through said lap- .moaeia to pivotally unite said sections, and each section having a reinforceing rod extending longitudinally thereof and being wound about the pivot sleeve of such section and extending from said sleeve toward the extremity of said inner end.

7. A molded railway-tie having a rail supporting portion, a wood anchoring block embedded in said portion, and said supporting portion having an opening extending downwardly from the base of said block through the bottom of said tie, and said opening being of suflicient size to receive the lower end of the anchoring screw if the location of the latter is changed from one position to another to accommodate the rail without shifting the tie.

8. A molded railway-tie having a supporting portion provided with a tie-plate disposed between the side edges of said portion, and anchoring blocks embedded in said portion between said plate and said side edges.

9. A molded railway-tie having a supporting portion provided with a tie plate disposed between the side edges of said portion and being flush with the top of said portion,

, and anchoring blocks between said plate and said side edges and being flush with the top of said portion.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I hereby afiix my signature.

RUSSELL U. STALEY. 

